The Royal's Obsession by Sophia Lynn Read Free Book Online

inside.
    What am I doing? Anastasia thought. Am I really so eager to hear more unflattering things about the world and how I see it?
    Apparently she was, because she stepped aside to allow Augustine to enter. Suddenly the room that had felt perfectly sized before became cramped. Without thinking of what she was doing, she took the only chair, leaving him to pace in front of her.
    He moved like a panther, prowling the narrow confines of her room. Despite her hurt, she could still appreciate the play of his muscles on his bare chest and the sleek and silent way he moved. There was something about him—she simply could not look away. She shivered when she realized that no matter what, she would always know when he was in the room.
    “You wanted to say something, so say it.” Her voice sounded shockingly tired even to her own ears. She knew he could hear it because he flinched a little.
    “I want to apologize,” he said abruptly, and she narrowed her eyes.
    “Why?”
    He looked up, surprised.
    She went on. “I mean it. Everything I have heard from you and about you tells me that you value the truth above everything else. Why would you apologize for saying something that you know to be true?”
    For a moment, Augustine seemed to be at a loss. She was resolved to kick him out, yacht owner or not, when he finally spoke again.
    “When I spoke against you this afternoon, I was speaking from a place of…unrest. I knew that you were speaking your truth as you saw it. Believe me when I say that my own truth, my entire life, has been something different. When I heard you speak about your dreams of finding love…it hurt. Those dreams, if I ever had them, are long gone. Do you understand?”
    Mutely, she nodded. She did. When they spoke about his expectations and the weight of being a prince, she could hear the anger and frustration that lay underneath his apparent acceptance of his position. There was something about him that was simply too frustrated and too sad to really be given a voice.
    “If I were a good man, a fair man, I would be happy that you have been able to hang on to something so precious. I know that it cannot have been easy. You are a wealthy young woman with ambitious parents. Some of the pressure must have been the same.”
    Wincing, she nodded. It was. Her mother and father wanted the best for her. Of course, that had led to her being introduced to a number of boring men, all of whom had not a single thing in common with her.
    “But I am not as good a man as I want to be, so I will simply say that I am sorry for hurting you. I…I would make it up to you, but I am not sure how I might do that.”
    There was a moment of tense silence as she considered his words. Were they genuine? Did it matter? Finally Anastasia nodded.
    “I accept your apology,” she said. “And thank you.”
    Augustine looked surprised.
    “Your thanks was the last thing I expected…”
    “Thank you for not lying to me. At home, I am surrounded by people who are invested in half-truths and who have their own agendas. It is…refreshing to be with a man who will only tell me the truth, even if his truth is different from mine.”
    He stood in the dimness of her room, his arms crossed over his chest. The silvery moonlight painted him in black and white. Augustine was silent for a moment, and then he smiled a little.
    “Tell me a truth right now,” he said.
    She laughed a little, feeling strangely light and free. This was such a strange meeting in moonlight. She felt as if they were in some kind of other world, where they could be as frank as they needed to be, where none of this mattered at all.
    “A truth on demand, Prince Augustine? All right, let me see…” She thought for a moment and then shrugged. “The first time I saw you, I was impressed and terrified in equal measure. I hadn't seen a man who looked as handsome as you in a long time, but I was terrified because you looked as if you were going to roll me straight into the